Apparatus for elevating gold-bearing deposits from river-beds.



, A. L. & 0. H. ELIEL. APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING GOLD BEARING DEPOSITS PRoM RIVER BEDS.

Patented Jan. 19. 1909. 4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 19, 1908. 910,277.

A. L. 6; 0. H. ELIEL. v

APPARATUS FOR BLEVATING GOLD BEARING DEPOSITS mom RIVER. BEDS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1908. 91 0,277. Patented Jan. 19. 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H HA v A. L. & O. H. ELIEL. APPARATUS FOR ELEVAJING GOLD BEARING DEPOSITS PROM RIVER BEDS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1908.

910,277. Patented Jan.19. 1909.

v 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

I A? A A3} 3 A. L. &'0. H. ELIEL. APPARATUS FOR ELEVATING GOLD BEARING DEPOSITS FROM RIVER BEDS.

APPLICATION FILED P1113119, 1908.

Patented Jan.19, 1909.

I 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

i To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT LEE ELIEL, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFGRNIA, AND OSCAR H. ELIEL, OF LA SALLE,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS or ONE-THIRD 'ro LEWIS 7E. AUBU'RY, orsAN FRANCISCO, CALI- FORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR ELEV ATmG GOLD-BEARING DEPOSITS FROM RIVER-BEDS.

no.'e1o,277.

Be it known that we, ALBERT LEE ELIEL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, and OSCAR H. Enron, of La Salle, in the county of Lasalle and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Im- Erovements in Apparatus for Elevating old-Bearing Deposits from River-Beds, of

which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to means for stirring tip-platinum, gold or other-metal-hearing sediments or petroleum, gravel, sand,

silt, mud, and the like, in river beds and ele-' vating the same with a percentage of water through a artially submerged open-ended hollow sha t by compressed air introduced into such hollow shaft at or near its lower end; and the objects of theimprovements are: first, to provide a suitable device for carryingor handling one or more partially submerged hollow shafts and air tubes in 'conju ction therewith and moving them vertic ally and laterally in relation to thewater bed or bottom; second, to provide means for varying the angle of'the submerged hollow shafts relatively to the water bed or dredge boat, 'in order to reach pockets or uneven "laces where rough bed rock 'bottom is mind; third, to provide devices in con'unc tion with the open end of the hollow s afts for stirring up or a itating'the deposits on the water bed aroun an in close proximity to the hollow shafts, sa from four to five inches from the open end of the hollow shafts and just below the same; and fourth,

to provide improvements in details for betvation,'mounted thereon.

termg'the general working of the apparatus as will be made to appear further on.

We attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 (Sheet. 1) is a side elevation of a dredge bQatshoWingthe a paratus, in eleig 2 (Sheet 2) 1 is a plan view of the same. g. 2 1s a detail showing a fragmentary front elevation of the upper part of theframe with its shafts an pulleys. Fig.2 is adetail showing a modification. Fig. 3 (Sheet 3) is a detail showing in fragment an enlarged horizontal section at the line 3 3 of Fig.1. Fig.4 is a detail-showing an enlarged ver- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February 19, 1908,. Serial No. 416,804.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

tical section in fragment takenon the line 4 4 of Fig. 3 at the axis of the hollow shafts withparts in elevation. Fig. 5 a detail showing a plan view of-the bottom atthe end of the submerged hollow shaft in connection with a foot-piece on which is mounted a stirring device. Fig. 6 (Sheet 4) is an enlarged horizontal section at the line 6 6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a detail showing a frdafgmentary sectional view including a mo cation of the stirring device at the lower end. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing another modification of the stirring dey vice, and of the means for operating it.

Similar signs marked on the drawings refer to similar parts throughout the several views. e

' Themeans shown for accomplishing the first of the above named objects consists of a dredge boat 9 of any suitable capacity on which is mounted one or more allows frames 10, the vertical uprights 0 which are provided with guides 11 upon which J travel rollers 12-of arms 13, connected with a casting 14 made in halves which are adapted .to fit into a groove in a hub or rin fixed to the hollow shaft 15 at its upper en when the halves are bolted together around the ring so that the arms are supported on, or

fixed to-the hollow'shaft vertically in a Inanner adapted to. ermit the hollow shaft to revolve mdepen entof the arms, the function ofthe arms being'to support the uppgil' .end of the hollow shaft 15 centrally wit the gallows-frame and allow it to have ver-- tical. and rotary movement therein. The hollow shaft 15 and arms 13 are supported within the frame and moved vertically therein by means of a cable '16 (shownin dotted lines Fig. 1) attached to the upper' end of thehollow shaft and passing thence up and over a sheave 17 and down to a -Windlass 18. The hollow shaft is given oscillatory, rotary movement by means of a grooved bevel wheel '19 and feathers 20 of the hollow shaft, as seen in Fig. 4, which can. slide vertically throu h the grooves of the wheel, but'wi-Il cause t e. hollow shaft to The feathers run rotate with the Wheel. nearly the entire length of the hollow shaft. The pinion 21 for operating the wheel 19 engages the under side of said wheel, and pulley and belt mechanism as seen art-23 (Fig. 1) havalternately throwing,.the straight an ing a straight' and a cross belt and three pulleys (two outer ones tight and a middleone loose) on a shaft in connection with an arranged to fit down within such flange.

The base plate is bolted to horizontal pieces of the gallows-frame at its base so that said flange of thebasepla'te, operating in conjunction with thearms'of saidwheel will prevent the lateral displacement of said wheelon the base plate; The base plate has a large-opening at the-center sutlicient to allow the hollow shaft and thestirring device to be raised through the same and strike the'underside of the wheel in case of bein "stand great strain. I

Metallic air tubes 27 are preferably therefrom producing unintentionally lifted too high which would lift the'wheel off of the base-plate and the pinion 21,-thus preventing breakage. The wheel by reason of its connection with the base plate affords a free working guide for the hollow shaft to slide up and down through at the base of the gallows-frame. We prefer to. use a hollow shaft of about 10 inch bore made of steel and heavy'enough to mounted at their ends on the outside of the hollow shafts and extended parallel therewith and at a slight distance therefrom from the top to the bottom end passin loosely through openin s in lugs of the whee 19 as seenin Fig. 6. e prefer to use three of the air tubes and arrange them equ'idistant apart around the hollow. shaft. The upper ends of the air tubes are connected with an air box 28 placed around the hollow shaft-15 (Fig. 7) and a flexible hose 29 connects the air box with a reservoir 30 of compressed air or gas from which the air box'and air tubesreceive their supply. The air tubes are curved upwardly at theirlower ends, pass through the wall of the hollow shaft and terminate in nozzles which point upward and toward the axis of the hollow shaft a short distance above the open end of the hollow shaft, the three jets of air a conic lifting force at the center of the the open end thereof at the bottom. This forms a well balanced air current towards the outlet end of the discharge hose 31 attached at the top of the hollow shaft and gives a much more effectual result than if re and applied within the air was distributed in any other number of pipes. v

The means for attaining the second of the .above named objects consists in providing the hollow shaft at one or more points at the top and below the gallows-frame with a ball joint, which willpermit turning or flexure of said hollow shaft and the discharge hose at its. connection therewith without interfering with the partial rotation thereof and in providing flexible hose couplings for the air tubes around such ball joints. The ball-joint is shown in Fig. 7 and comprises a globular shell 32 threaded or otherwise secured upon the end of one section of the tube 15 and a globular shell socket made in two parts 33, '33 and adapted to be bolted together upon the globular shell 32, one of said parts being threaded upon the opposite section of hollow shaft 15. The members of the ball joint may be babbitted as seen at 34. The air tubes 27' are made in' sectionsbetween ball joints which are joined with flexible hose couplings 35 which permit flexure of the air tubes at the ball joints. w I

The means for attaining the third object above mentioned consists in one or more plows or agitators mounted on the lower end of the hollow shaft and. adapted to be operated thereby; The function of the plow is to stir up the gravel or sand at'the mouthof the hollow shaft and in close proximity to the water flow into the same. The plows may be varied in form or shape as may be deemed best suited to the material to be worked, sharp plows for gravel, etc., flat-ended plows for bed rock. We prefer flat pointed to" sharp ,pointed plows to give a scraping .ef-- feet, and a strong steel brush may be emplo ed so as to cover thoroughly the bed rocr and crevices in same and brush the sglmie in proximity to the end of the hollow s a t.

The bottom end of the hollow shaft is ings 38 with which the air tubes 27 commu-.

nicate as seen in Figs. 7 and 8 and also other projections 39 provided with smooth straight openings in which the'shank 40 of the plows or stirrers 41 are secured by a linclr'pin so as to turn freely. In the present instance the stirrers are shown as having a triangular body with a bevel pointed lower end, being best suited to travel over rock bottom without great wear or injury. When thehollow shaft is lowered until the lower end strikes the sediment at the river bed and the bow of the dredge boat is moved back and forth, or from side to side, and the hollow shaft rotated as indicated, thesediment is stirred by the plows around and below the open end of the hollow shaft and the mass air box at of roiled sediment with its particles of precious metal is raised into the mouth of the hollow shaft or they flow toward the same,

so that the air currents are applied under the mass in the hollow shaft and are thus enabled to lift and carry the same up through the hollow shaft and out through the. discharge hose. 7

The simpl'e'introduction of the three air pipes into up-turned openings in the plow section, as closely to the bottom edge as practicable is an important feature, and in consequence gives the highest practical efliciency.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8 the plow shank 40 is connected with a shaft 40 which may be extended up and connected with suitable mechanism on the dredge boat for rotating said shaft and the plow independent of the rotation of the hollow shaft.

It is preferred in some cases to have individually-adjustable foot-pieces for the stirring devices so mounted as to be set at an inclination to the hollow shaft and at a slight angle tothe shaft, 40 and in connection with the shaft 40*. For this purpose the shaft 40 has a universal joint 40 at its lower end and in connection with the upper end of the shank 40. The foot-pieces are individually mounted on the lower end of this hollow shaft and secured thereto by bolts working in arc slots 40 formed in the body of the foot-piece on radii of the universal joint in such manner as to adjust the angle of said shank with said shaft without breaking the operative connection between said parts (see Fig. 2

- Among the details involving other improvements may be mentioned the secondary air feed which is located directly below the ball joint at the upper end of the hollow shaft and consists in three, valved air tubes 42 having connection with the air box 28 and terminating in nozzles within the globular shell 'of the said ball joint. This serves thepurpose of a booster and need only be used in case of deep dredging where material is to be lifted exceptionally high or delivered at considerable distance. The valved air tubes 42 are preferably placed equidistant apart but not connected with the points directly opposite to the air tubes 27.

Another detail noted is the ball joint placed just above the plow section, as shown in Fig. 7, and provided with a set screw 43 (one or more) whereby a short section of the hollow shaft 15 just above the plow section can be turned and set at a slight inclination to the line of the main part of said hollow shaft as illustrated by do'tted lines, for the purpose of more advantageously working pockets or depressions in rough rock bottom. In such case the sand and rock would enter at an angle and have a tendency to strike the side of the ball joint wall This is avoided by providing an air jet. through a flexible branch air tube 44 provided with a valve so air can be shut oil" when not required, which is so directed as to pass between the incoming mass and said wall to operate as a cushion jet 45-to change its direction to correspond with the direction of the line of the main portion of said hollow shaft.

A further detail is in the provision for exchanging nozzles of the air tubes whereby a larger one may be substituted for a smaller one, or the reverse, which consists in providing a plug opening 46 (Fig. 7) in line with the nozzle opening at' the inner end of the upturned opening 38 which is made tapering at this point and adapted to serve as a socket for separate nozzle-pieces of different size of bore, the plug 46 being removed, a nozzle piece 47 of any desired size may be inserted or removed and replaced by another.

The extreme lower end of the hollow shaft is provided with a detachable steel ring 47 slightly contracting the mouth of the hollow shaft and serving the purpose of a wearing piece and sizer.

To the Windlass shaft iskeyed a spirallygrooved cone 48, to which is attached a cable 49 playing upon idlers 50 and carrying a. weight 51, which operates as a common fusee to vary the leverage and automatically counterbalance the hollow shaft in proportion to the amount of its submergence, and equalizing the pressure on'the plows.

It isintended the term vertically-arranged as herein applied to the hollow,

open-ended shaft, means and includes any angle or upward inclination at which compressed air admitted into the bore of the shaft at its lower end when submerged will cause the mass of material flowing in to be lifted through the bore and How out at the upper end, for the purpose mentioned.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1'. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft and a frame in which the said hollow shaft is mounted so as to slide vertically, in combination with mechanism for moving said hollow shaft vertically and horizontally and imparting to it reciproeating rotary movement and an air tube connected with the bottom end for introducing compressed air into said hollow shaft when partially submerged.

2. An open ended, vertically arranged hollow shaft and a frame in which said hollow shaft is mounted so as to slide and to rotate, in combination with mechanism for moving said hollow shaft vertically, mechanism for imparting to said hollow shaft re.- ciprocating rotary movement, and an air tube connected with the bottom end for introducing compressed air into the hollow 4. An open ended, vertically arranged,

hollow shaft, an air box mounted on the hollow shaft at the upper end, air tubes communicating with the air-box and with'the lower end of the hollow shaft and a flexible tube communicating with the air-box and with a source of compressed air.

5. An open-ended, vertically-arranged, hollow shaft and a frame in which said hollow shaft is mounted so as to slide vertically, an air-box mounted on said hollow shaft near its upper end, air tubes communicating with the air-box and with the hollow shaft at its lower end, a flexible tube communicating with the air-box, and a source of compressed air, in combination with means forreciprocating the hollow shaft vertically.

' 6. An open ended, vertically arranged,

hollow shaft and a frame in which said hollow shaft is mounted so as to slide vertically, an air-box mounted on said tube near its upper end, air tubes communicating with the air-box and with the hollow shaft at its lower end, a flexible tube communicating with the air-box and a source of compressed air, in combination with means for reciproeating the hollow shaft vertically and horizontally.

7 An 'openended, verticallyarranged, hollow shaft and a frame in which said hollow shaft is mounted so as to slide vertically, an air-box mounted on said hollow shaft near its upper end, air tubes communicating with the air-box and with the hollow shaft at its lower end, a flexible .tube communicating with the air-box and a source of compressed air, in combination with means for reciprocating the hollow shaft vertically and horizontally and imparting to it reciproeating rotary movement.

'8. An 0 en -'ended, vertically-arranged, hollow sha t provided with an air-box at its upper end, air tubes communicating with the alr-box and with the lower end of the hollow shaft, and valved air tubes communicat-' ing with the air-box and with the hollow shaft above the air-box. 1

9., An open-ended, vertically-arranged, hollow shaft and a frame in which it is mounted so as to slide vertically in combination with means for moving the same vertically and horizontally and imparting to it reciprocating rotary movement, air tubes communicating with the lower end of said hollow shaft and with a source of compressed air, and a stirring device mounted on said hollow shaft and projecting below its lower end. 10. An open 4 ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft provided with a longitudinal feather and slidably mounted in a frame in combination with a centrally perforated grooved wheel loosely mounted on the frame, the hollow shaft passing loosely through the perforation of the wheel with its feathenin the groove, and means for imparting reolprocating rotary motionto the wheel.

11. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft provided with a longitudinal feather and slidably mounted in a frame in combination with a centrally perforated grooved gear wheel and automatic reversing mechanism for imparting reciprocating, rotary movement to said wheel.

12. An open ended, vertically arranged,

hollow shaft, slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and having stirring and scraping flevices mounted on its lower end.

13. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and having stirring devices detachably mounted on its lower end. 14. An open -ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted ina frame and provided at its lower end with an annular foot-piece having openings terminating in nozzles entering the bore of the hollow shaft just above its lower end.

15. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided with an annular foot-piece and stirring devices loosely mounted on said foot-piece.

16. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided at its lower end with an annular foot-piece having three equidistant openin s for air inlets directed toward-the axis 0 said foot-piece and inclined upwardly.

17. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided with an annular foot-piece provided with nozzles arranged around the foot-piece equdistant apart for 'air jets directed toward the axial center and at about 28 from the vertical.

18. An open-ended, verticall -arranged, hollow shaft slidably and-rotatably mounted in a frame and provided with an annular foot-piece provided with nozzle socket openings and plug openings with removable plugs at points opposite to the socket openings.

. 19. An 0 en ended, verticall arranged hollow sha slidably and rotata ly mounted in a frame andprovided with a thin steel ring detachably placed within the open end at the bottom, slightlycontracting the opening at the extreme end and serving as a sizer and wearing piece.

20. An open ended, verticall arranged, hollow sha t slidably and rotata ly mounted m a frame and provided with three air pipes arranged around its circumference, and entering its lower open end through three nozzles entering its bore at, points equidistant apart and arranged in linesconvergent toward and meeting at the axial center of the hollow shaft bore just above the open end giving a full volume of compressed air upon instantaneous expansion of uniform pressure. I

21. An 0 en ended, verticall arranged hollow sha slidably and rotata lymounted in a frame and provided with stirring devices at its lower end and means for vertically moving the same in combination'with a fusee ada ted to equalize the weight of the hollow sha proportionally to its submergence.

22. An 0 en ended, verticall arranged, hollow sha slidably and rotata ly mounted in a frame and provided with an annular footiece having stirring devices, a gear whee loosely. mounted on said hollow shaft to slide thereon, and a base plate for sup-.

porting said wheel in relation to'the hollow shaft having a central opening sufiicient to allow the foot-piece to passthrough it.

23. An 0 en ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided with a ball-jointjust above the bottom end, in combination with an annular foot-piece at the endand below the ball-joint, and having nozzle openings for admitting compressed air, lockbolts for settingthe ball-joint to hold the foot-piece inclined to the line of the hollow shaft, and air tubes mounted on the hollow. shaft above the ball-j oint and provided with valved flexible couplings over the ball-joint and communicating w1th the .nozzle openmgs.

24:. An open ended, vertically arranged,

hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided near its lower end with a ball-joint, primary air tubes communicating. with the hollow shaft at its.

lower end, and flexible air tubes entering through openings in the lower member of the ball-joint and serving as a cushlon for the mass of material passing theangle at the ball-joint. V

25; An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided near its lower end with a set of prima air tubes and a set of secondary air tu es each having -upwardly-turned ends with nozzles in combination with an adjustable foot-piece and stirring ap liances mounted thereon and means for settlng the foot-piece at an angle to the hollow shaft.

26. An open ended, vertically arranged, hollow shaft slidably and rotatably mounted in a frame and provided at its lower end with individually-adjustable foot-pieces and 

